In the fall of 2011 I worked out at a Michigan apple orchard. Part of my job was to go to the farmer’s market twice a week to help sell their apples. It was a fun experience being able to interact with people and answer their apple questions. One of the questions I get the most (besides do you spray and do you have such and such apple), is why are Honeycrisp apples so expensive? We seld most of our apples for $2.75 for a quart box. However a quart of Honeycrisp costs $4.25. There are two main reasons that these apples will cost you more of your hard earned dough.

1. The apples aren’t easy to grow. I know the farm I worked for has had trouble with grating the trees. There is also a problem with the apple having splits. Typically each week, we end up with a basket full of Honeycrisp apples that had cracks the size of the Grand Canyon. We could not sell them – so they became free samples for the help!

2. Another reason why they are more money is simply because the market dedicates it. If people are willing to pay the price, then why not charge them that price. The Honeycrisp has gotten the reputation as being a premium apple, so people expect to pay a premium price. I have seen the apples being sold for $3.99 a pound during February and people seem to have no problem filling their bags full of them. Now if people stop paying that price, then naturally the prices would have to go down or no apples would be sold. It’s all clever marketing.

So these are the basic reasons why you are going to pay more for those Honeycrisp. It’s up to you to decide if it’s worth it. If you are willing to pay for them, then expect to keep on paying the same amount for them.

Who Has the Cheapest Honeycrisp Apples
If you are looking for the best deal on Honeycrisp apples then the secret is to head to the farmer’s market. Try to find a vendor that is selling “seconds”. These apples don’t look as perfect as the “firsts”. There is nothing wrong with the flavor at all, but because they don’t look as good they go for a cheaper price.